The present invention relates generally to accessories, and more particularly, to accessories for an apparatus for repairing and straightening vehicles.
With the increasing sophistication of apparatus for repairing and straightening, faster repairing and straightening of damaged vehicles has been attained without large expenditures of time, labor, and energy. There is also an increasing need for accessories for use in such apparatus for repairing and straightening to further increase their ability to repair vehicles having various types of damage and to further increase their efficiency to thus further reduce the time, labor, and effort required to repair and straighten vehicles. Also, such accessories should be easy to operate without the need for other type of apparatus, such as support blocks.
Still further, such apparatus should be light in weight, and of small size thus allowing easy use thereof without the expenditures of large amounts of energy.
A special need has arisen for accessories for use in repairing unibody type vehicles. Previous apparatus used in anchoring unibody type vehicles had serious deficiencies in the ability to accept the counterforce conveyed from the vehicle substantially in line. Therefore, it was necessary to align the vehicle exactly in a position allowing the counterforce to be conveyed substantially in line. Thus, it was necessary to move the vehicle to an exact position, possibly several times, thus requiring large expenditures of time and effort. Also, if the vehicles were not substantially in line with the accessories, previously known accessories could damage the vehicle when the repair force was exerted thereto. Further, such previously known accessories also suffered serious deficiencies in the ability for their use in unibody vehicles having bent pinch welds.